Inwood to host 3-on-3 hoops tourney

INWOOD – When Todd Lesser was younger, the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament was a big event in the Eastern Panhandle.

It was something he and his friends looked forward to playing in every summer.

It was the enjoyment of that tournament that spawned Lesser and friend Tony Faircloth to start T&T Sports, which was formed to gives basketball players up and down the East Coast a chance at playing in tournaments.

“There hasn’t been much 3-on-3 basketball since the Gus Macker days. That was the big thing back then,” Lesser said. “Now, it’s mostly 5-on-5 tournaments, which is great, but there’s not much 3-on-3 basketball anymore, so we’re trying to get that back and get the world out.”

While T&T Sports is putting on 5-on-5 tournaments, including ones as close as Hagerstown and Winchester and as far away as Tennessee, its focus locally is on 3-on-3 tournaments, with three coming to the area in the next few weeks.

The first, the 3-on-3 Basketball Fever tournament, will be held Aug. 13-14 at the Randy Smith Center in Inwood. The Winchester Showdown will take place on Aug. 20 at Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports, while the Labor Day Slam will be held Sept. 2-4 at Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy and will served as a fundraiser tournament.

Lesser said he expects strong numbers for each of the tournaments.

“We have some teams that are signed up, but the signup period is still going on,” said Lesser, a basketball referee for 15 years. “With a lot of the 3-on-3 teams, they sign up at the last minute.”